Conditions for keeping goldfish in an aquarium

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Do you want to have a goldfish at home, like in a fairy tale? Imagine, it is quite possible, but it is unlikely that she will be able to fulfill your three wishes. But such a pet will delight you with its bright appearance, in addition, it is absolutely quiet and does not create noise. Today we will tell you what should be the care and maintenance of goldfish, as well as find out how to feed and breed them. After all, only with good care will these creatures be able to feel comfortable in the artificial underwater world that we have created for them.

Zoological portrait

Goldfish, the contents of which we will consider in detail today, have a scientific Latin name - Carassius auratus auratus. These representatives of the underwater kingdom come from the carp family. In our lakes and rivers, the closest relatives of golden beauties are mirror carp, bream, crucian carp, bleak and rudd. However, it is not very clear to which family the famousA. S. Pushkin's goldfish, because these creatures live mainly in fresh water.

Aquarium inhabitants

The care and maintenance of aquarium goldfish requires a lot of attention. The size of such underwater inhabitants, as a rule, is approximately 15 cm, however, some individuals can reach 30 cm in length. Aquarium goldfish are distinguished by an elongated and laterally flattened body in the shape of an ellipse and a sharp snout. The long dorsal fin originates in the middle of the body, while the lower one is located closer to the tail.

The classic goldfish has a reddish-golden back, a yellowish belly, and yellow-golden flanks. The fins are most often painted bright red, although sometimes they are yellow. However, you can find more exotic specimens that are painted white and even black and blue. So goldfish are not always gold, sometimes they are red, pink, brown and even spotted.

How to tell a male from a female

The sex of these aquarium inhabitants is not so easy to determine. This can be done just before spawning. In males at this time, a distinctive feature appears - notches, which are located on the gills and the anterior ray of the pectoral fins. The female, ready to spawn, can be recognized by the swollen, compacted abdomen. If you look at it from above, you can see a curved body, which, after spawning, may remain so.

Preparing the aquarium

Holding goldfish at home should be such that your pets are comfortable living in an aquarium. Experts recommend getting a special species aquarium, up to a meter in size. Please note that goldfish are very fond of digging, so the bottom of the tank should be covered with large granules, from which the water will not be heavily polluted. In addition, it is necessary to select certain aquatic plants. They should not have small leaves so that the inhabitants of the aquarium cannot eat them. Species such as vallisneria or egg capsule are best suited. Floating plants such as riccia and duckweed, which goldfish love to feast on, will also do well in the aquarium.

Keeping these underwater inhabitants at home requires a lot of patience. Everyone knows that goldfish are big gluttons, they are very fond of digging plants out of the ground and eating their tender leaves. You need to strengthen your plantings as carefully as possible so that the pets cannot move them, otherwise the aquarium will be a mess. The best option would be to plant adult hard-leaved plants in small pots, which should be pressed down with large stones. However, you can not bother and just decorate the aquarium with artificial plants, but in this case the water balance will worsen, since there will be no natural source of oxygen.

Regarding water

For comfortable conditions for keeping goldfish, water with a temperature of 16-24 degrees is necessary. note thatin winter, this figure should not be more than 20 degrees, while in summer the thermometer should be at around 21. Raise and lower the water temperature from season to season should be gradual.

The care and maintenance of goldfish also requires maintaining a balance of acidity and water hardness. The first parameter should be maintained within 7 units, but the stiffness can vary from 8 to 18 units. Naturally, the water in the aquarium should be as clean and enriched with oxygen as possible. Its level should be from 25 centimeters.

The conditions for keeping goldfish in an aquarium imply regular water renewal. It is recommended to add 1/10 of its total volume every day. The added water must have the same temperature and the same composition. When the season changes, it should be lowered or raised by one degree. It is advisable to equip the aquarium with an aerator and a filter.

Not everyone knows how many goldfish should be in one aquarium to be comfortable. Their maximum allowable number is determined by the following formula: for 10 cm of body length of one individual, 200 cm2 water surface is needed. If the aquarium is not equipped with an aerator, then this rate should be increased by 2 times. In this case, it is necessary to carry out a daily water change in the amount of 1/3 of the total volume. Please note that the fewer fish in the aquarium, the easier it will be to care for them.

Neighborhood with other representatives

What is the compatibility of goldfish? Care and maintenance does not matter. These creaturesit does not get along well with other types of fish, although they are not aggressive predators. Often they can eat small fish, young snails and fry. It is worth noting that goldfish are very clumsy, so aggressive species such as cichlids can easily gnaw their fins. It is best to combine our pets with calm and peaceful relatives. Often, goldfish live with catfish, which are natural cleaners, live mainly on the bottom and rarely intersect with high-floating neighbors.

Feeding

We continue to consider the content of goldfish. The main care for them comes down to timely and proper feeding. Recall that these inhabitants of the aquarium are very voracious and prone to obesity, because they do not know the measure. A big plus is that they are practically omnivorous and unpretentious. The diet of goldfish consists of vegetable and live foods. The latter include daphnia, bloodworms, earthworms and earthworms, coretra and tubifex. From vegetable feeds, it is worth noting lettuce, Riccia and duckweed.

Also, don't forget the extra carbohydrates found in breadcrumbs and cereals made from wheat, oatmeal and buckwheat. Such dishes are prepared without s alt, then rolled into small balls. In addition, scraped meat will be a great additional protein in your pets' diet, it can also be mixed with bread and rolled into balls. Goldfish need carbohydrates more than protein, which is not the case with their tropical relatives. If you decide to give your pets dry food in the form of flakes orgranules, you first need to carefully study the instructions.

As a rule, dry food is soaked briefly in a small amount of aquarium water until it swells. This is good for the digestive system of fish, in addition, they will eat less, because they will quickly get enough. Frozen food should be thawed at room temperature and never in the microwave.

If you feed young brine shrimp, which can be s alty, you can reduce the s alt concentration by soaking the food in water. For vegetable top dressing, you can take nettle or lettuce, but natural aquatic plants are best suited: hornwort, riccia and duckweed. The daily portion of food for goldfish should be no more than 3% of its weight. These underwater inhabitants are fed twice a day. Without food, they can last a maximum of a week.

Breeding

Goldfish live an average of 10-12 years, and mature by the year. In this case, in females, a rounded abdomen can be seen. A small white rash appears on the gills of males, and small notches can be seen on the anterior rays of the pectoral fins. Spring is the best time of the year for breeding. For 1-1, 5 weeks, males are separated from females and intensively fattened with daphnia and bloodworms.

It is important to properly prepare the spawning ground. Its bottom is lined with clean river sand, and it is imperative that it rises on one side. It is here that you need to plant a large peristolist bush, elodea or a bunch of bast. Purified from chlorinewater should be held in the sun for several hours, and then drained into a spawning ground. Next, two males and one female need to be planted in a nest for spawning. This process, which lasts 2-3 hours, is stimulated by strong aeration, low water level (15-20 cm), a gradual increase in temperature to 25-26 degrees and sunlight. During this time, the female can sweep up to 2000 eggs.

When spawning is completed, the substrate with adhered caviar must be transferred to a previously prepared container with clean water, which should be left in the sun. It is very important to monitor the temperature, which should not go down, because it is detrimental to the offspring. Whitened eggs must be removed and the water changed regularly.

Fry care

Already on the fifth day, the fry begin to swim independently and swallow the smallest live food. They grow rapidly, so after three weeks the first selection should be carried out, since it is pointless to feed weak individuals. There should be three or four such selections in total. Thus, you will not be left with fry with deviations from accepted norms and deformities.

How to choose the best representatives? The fry should have an egg-shaped body without flaws and deformations, the tail should be bifurcated without torn places and bends, the direction and size of the eyes, growths and fins should be the same. Further conditions for keeping goldfish are completely identical to the care of mature, adult individuals. At first, babies should be fed with rotifers and ciliates, and by the second year it is recommended to transfer toregular food.

Pitfalls of a round aquarium

Is it possible to keep a goldfish in a round aquarium? Avid aquarists categorically do not recommend keeping a pet in such a container, since it is impossible to create full living conditions in it. It is best to use round aquariums as an interior detail, planting them with beautiful plants and algae.

The shape and small size of the vessel impose many restrictions under which the maintenance of fish in such conditions will be impossible. For example, special equipment cannot be placed in such an aquarium, so your fish will suffer from a lack of oxygen, polluted water and jumping temperatures.

Cons of a round aquarium

• Standard diameter - 25 cm, volume - 15 l. Such dimensions do not allow the installation of a full-fledged filter, as a result of which the water will quickly become contaminated. To avoid this, the water will have to be changed daily, and this is not only troublesome, but can also cause great stress for the fish.
• The tank narrows at the top, making the surface area of the water very small. This reduces the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water, which makes the fish starve of oxygen.
• It is problematic to put a heater in such an aquarium, so you will encounter significant temperature fluctuations, which will also cause stress for underwater inhabitants.
• It is difficult to place shelters and plants for fish in a small container, so they will not feel comfortable in a "naked" aquariumprotected.
• Small volumes do not allow more than three individuals to be placed in the aquarium.
• The curved walls of the vessel prevent the free movement of fish, and the refraction of light creates the illusion of constant movement outside the aquarium, which frightens its inhabitants.

Consequences of living in a round aquarium

What will happen to the pet in a round aquarium? Goldfish, the care and maintenance of which we examined, can get a lot of stress. As a result, her immunity can decrease and a serious illness can develop that will lead to death. A vessel that holds less than 15 liters of water cannot be used to keep fish. It is worth noting that many countries have banned the use of round aquariums as dwellings for living creatures.

The modern market for aquarium products offers a wide range of special indoor ponds. Of course, they are small in size, but they are equipped with everything you need. There is a device for aeration and water purification, as well as a flowing waterfall and LED lighting.

In closing

If you follow all the rules in caring for goldfish, then this will turn into a favorite hobby that will be a pleasure. These creatures are cheerful and unpretentious. Be sure to put these fabulous creatures in your aquarium, and who knows, maybe your wishes will come true soon.